On episode 1 of Get Vertical! with Mike McCalley, host, Mike McCalley, speaks with Darren Doyle, Outsourced Revenue Growth Partner at Sales Xceleration as they discuss their experience with sales and the importance of being service-oriented in business. They talk about the negative connotation surrounding sales and how it can be changed by being genuine and having integrity. The conversation then shifts to the topic of pricing and how discounts are often used as a lazy fix for other problems in an organization, rather than fixing the underlying issues. The importance of training and expertise for salespeople is also discussed, as well as the negative impact of poorly structured compensation plans.

In this podcast episode, host Mike McCauley speaks with innovation expert Bob Moesta about the importance of building capabilities for sustainable growth in companies. Moesta explains that while there is pressure on executives to focus solely on results, it is important to also prioritize building capabilities through initiatives such as market facing innovation. He also shares a methodology called Minesweeper that helps teams identify and investigate high impact, low certainty assumptions in their innovation projects. Moesta advises his younger self to be more proactive in making things happen personally rather than waiting for promotions.

Dan Adams, the co-founder and CEO of advanced industrial marketing (Aim), has conducted research on leadership practices during his tenure at Aim. Based on his research, they defined four types of leaders: Builders, remodellers, decorators, and realtors. Only 53% of senior leaders considered themselves builders while only 32% of the subordinates identified their senior leader as a builder in the companies which were surveyed. The companies being led by builders had a much higher expectation of future growth and a higher actual self-reported rate of growth. Adams mentioned that the first duty of a builder is to leave their business stronger than they found it. In 2005, Adams asked to be fired from his job after spending 29 years at the company he was working for. He eventually launched Aim and wrote his first book in 2008 called New Product Blueprinting.

In this podcast episode, host Mike McCauley speaks with innovation expert Bob Moesta about the importance of building capabilities for sustainable growth in companies. Moesta explains that while there is pressure on executives to focus solely on results, it is important to also prioritize building capabilities through initiatives such as market facing innovation. He also shares a methodology called Minesweeper that helps teams identify and investigate high impact, low certainty assumptions in their innovation projects. Moesta advises his younger self to be more proactive in making things happen personally rather than waiting for promotions.

Dan Adams, the co-founder and CEO of advanced industrial marketing (Aim), has conducted research on leadership practices during his tenure at Aim. Based on his research, they defined four types of leaders: Builders, remodellers, decorators, and realtors. Only 53% of senior leaders considered themselves builders while only 32% of the subordinates identified their senior leader as a builder in the companies which were surveyed. The companies being led by builders had a much higher expectation of future growth and a higher actual self-reported rate of growth. Adams mentioned that the first duty of a builder is to leave their business stronger than they found it. In 2005, Adams asked to be fired from his job after spending 29 years at the company he was working for. He eventually launched Aim and wrote his first book in 2008 called New Product Blueprinting.